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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Barry Werner

Cleveland Browns QB Deshaun Watson accused of sexual assault, battery in lawsuit

More controversy has surrounded Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson.

On Monday, a civil lawsuit was filed in Houston that accused Watson of sexual assault and battery in October 2020.

Watson and the accuser—named as “Jane Doe” in the lawsuit —were supposed to have dinner at her apartment, per the details in the filing.

Per ESPN.com:

The lawsuit alleges that, while applying makeup in her bathroom, the woman then found Watson “completely naked on her bed, lying face down on his stomach.” Watson then requested the woman massage his buttocks and the woman “tried to appease Watson by rubbing his back, rather than his buttocks,” according to the lawsuit.

Watson then turned over and “continued to demand that Jane Doe massage him, gesturing from his knees to his groin,” according to the lawsuit. The woman told Watson that she was not a masseuse, to which Watson asked her what she wanted to do instead, the suit alleges.

Before the woman could answer, Watson “partially disrobed Jane Doe and penetrated her vagina without consent, implicit or explicit,” according to the lawsuit, which also alleges that Watson sexually assaulted the woman for several minutes before she escaped and grabbed a heavy piece of decor for self-defense. Watson then “stormed out of Jane Doe’s apartment,” according to the lawsuit.

Watson was on the Houston Texans when more than two dozen women accused him of inappropriate conduct and sexual assault. Grand juries did not pursue charges, but the NFL suspended him for 11 games in 2022.

Neither the NFL nor the Browns offered immediate comment.

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